There can
be no greater demonstration of the human drive to express
repressed emotion creatively than the children's art exhibit in
the Prague, Czechoslovakia Jewish Museum. With the most meager
materials available: cardboard, string, rocks and char dust,
children in the 1943 Jewish concentration camp, Terezin,
expressed in images how they felt to exist in environs where
emotional repression insured invisibility (McKay, 1990)
(Silverstone, 1997). Fifty-five years later, journal and art
therapy are current leading psychotherapy treatments for
emotionally-repressed adolescent patients suffering memory block
or verbal impotence. These victims protectively cradle secrets
resulting in delinquent behavior, suicide attempts and eating
disorders. The two therapies permit patients to relinquish
control and decimate roadblocks to recovery, as they release
their minds' locked closets to permit the offending skeletons'
examination. While guiding patients through their skeletal
discoveries, art therapists assume a passive role permitting the
patients' solo interpretations of their literary or artistic
symbolisms (Silverstone).

Unfortunately,
America's legal system threatens these two vital therapies, for
if an adolescent is suspected of intent to commit, or is involved
in a delinquent crime, whether plaintiff or defendant, these
creative endeavors may be discoverable and admissible evidence in
Court. A Motion to Compel which demonstrates compelling need for
discovery, (definition of "compelling need":
"information which cannot be obtained elsewhere") of an
adolescent's journals and art therapy documents may satisfy the
legal requirement in subpoenaing this evidence for second party
evaluation. Since the success of journal and art psychotherapy in
the art therapist's 1998 domain relies on the delinquent
adolescents' (ages ten to seventeen) willingness to express
non-judged emotion (Cameron 1992), these creative endeavors
should be barred as valid evidence to be judged by American Court
second parties, or these discovery parameters will threaten the
therapy's future, and American society's future in coping with
repressed adolescents sans a successful treatment.

Right
Brain Repression

The
compelling need is the urgency for art therapy in western
culture. When both hemispheres of the brain are functioning in
tandem, a human is operating at ideal competence. Journal and art
therapies' stunning accomplishments are made possible by guiding
the patient through the synchronization of both hemispheres
facilitating the patient's right and left brains locking together
like a perfect puzzle permitting neural bridging from side to
side. This is a process which does not come naturally to these
patients, since western civilization honors the left side of the
brain and often neglects the right hemisphere. The message
rendered regarding right-brained achievement is that it is
non-academic and a sure invitation for economic-earning doom
(Cameron, 1992). Although children are born creative beings, as
demonstrated by their ability to artistically fantasize and
fortify storytelling skills, western culture represses
acknowledgment of their brain's right hemisphere and disavows
their spontaneous, intuitive cognition. Rather, rational and
logical thinking proven by empirical knowledge, is the
cornerstone of the child's public school evaluation in his
educational endeavors (Silverstone, 1997).

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

Figures 1-5
display selected children's artwork from ages 2.5 through 4.5. In
figure 1, the 2.5 year old's free art form consists of simple
circular strokes with 2 colors: yellow and green; figure 2 is a
3.0 year old's free form displaying more complex design with five
colors: purple, yellow, orange, white and aqua; figure 3 is a 4.0
year old's creation which shows the introduction of a linear
progression. The child was provided a square, triangle,
rectangle, decorative stickers and cotton, and prompted to place
the geometric figures and decorations; figure 4 is a similar
assignment with the introduction of a circle for a man's head;
figure 5 is an absolute linear product prepared by a
pre-kindergarten 4.5 year old. (Bennett, Mariano). Although
motivating the child's left brain progression is educationally
sound, similar incentive must be provided for the child to
maintain optimum right brain circuitry. Even as parents, we
render more appreciation and applause for the academically
designed linear activities. Usually, these are the products which
are proudly displayed on the family refrigerators or mailed to
grandparents. As familial and school applause tips the scales
toward the linear, the child will likewise tip his or her
preference toward those projects.

Right
brained cultural acknowledgment and repression owns a long
history. Civilizations, such as the Mayans, taught their children
that both hemispheres of the brain should be honored. Mayan
children were instructed in identifying their mothers as
"Rainbow Mother" or "Nurturing Mother." The
Rainbow Mother was one who inspired her children with creative
endeavors, while Nurturing Mother cared for her children and
managed the family's day to day activity. Offspring were taught
to identify their inheritance especially when choosing a spouse.
"Two rainbow spouses may overlook paying their bills; or
forget to eat, and they may starve to death lost in their own
chaos. If a rainbow partner is deeply committed to work, and she
finds a nurturing partner to look after her, then the marriage is
superior" (Anderson, 1985, p. 77). Thus, the description of
a perfect Mayan union was one combining creative expression with
rational thinking.

Conversely,
present-day western culture shares celebrated company in
repressing right-brained activity. In 400 BC, Plato described
representative art as "the inferior child of inferior
parents." He likened art to using the "lowest part of
the brain" because it does not deal with the brain's
rational reasoning center, the left hemisphere (Lee, 1987, p.
373). Fifteen hundred years later, this repression re-germinated
in the patriarchal Judeo-Christian religions. From 600 to 1100
AD, right brained wisdom was honored, particularly in the
European civilization, when healers and priestesses developed
their intuition and ability to advise their patients. As their
ability to intuit and heal flourished, their power became a focus
of Church leader jealousy, as well as those within their own
civilization. (Silverstone, 1997). Right-brained activity was
threatened and abolished by witchcraft accusations, trials and
executions from 1100 to 1600 AD (Gregg, 1997).

Western
civilization literature also contains elements of this
repression. Aldous Huxley's fictional Brave New World
civilization, squashed creative manifestation. In this perfect
society, there was no freedom of artistic expression.
"That's the price we have to pay for stability. You've got
to choose between happiness and what people used to call high
art. We've sacrificed the high art" (Huxley, 1932, p. 220).
On the other hand, to repress the civilization's unhappy
unsettling emotions, there was widespread frequent use of the
drug soma (Huxley, 1932), which underscores current art
therapy theory that synchronization of the brain's two
hemispheres creates a healthy whole person. Societies which
sacrifice this synchronization similarly forfeit the
well-mindedness of the community's individuals. Although the
American Psychological Association has recognized and embraced
the importance of this proven principle in its support of art
therapy, current U.S. law has built the sacrificial pyre for its
participants. Therapists ask for patient trust with one hand
extended, while advising the patient that disrobing his psyche
and displaying honest emotion may cause him to be led away by the
same trusted hand. How long before the treatment is abandoned?

Therapy
Rewards

Anthropologists
subscribe that stigma sounds a powerful death knell for cultural
practice (Kulick, 1991). Western social stigma attached to the
brain's right hemispheric powers has perpetrated right brain
atrophy and shrinking like a stale raisin permitting repressed
memories and emotions to hide in its nooks. Journal and art
therapists must be permitted to coax this atrophied body part
back to health with creative mental gymnastics until the
adolescent's repressed anger can be expressed and interpreted by
the patient without fear of recrimination. Anger is meant to be
acknowledged. Its adolescent repression leads to oppositional
behavior, chronic truancy, delinquent acting out, aggressive
violent behavior, and chronic depression resulting in suicidal
gestures including the eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia.
While children were raised in the "Age of Anxiety" in
the nineteen fifties and sixties with fear of nuclear war,
children in the 1990s are being raised in the "Age of
Anger". As we close out a century that has brought radical
social change, we find adults and children coping with perceived
injustices giving rise to insidious resentful thoughts and
actions (Child/Adolescent [On-Line]). Conflict management
workshops, abusive spouse workshops, verbal abuse management,
fund-raising events to combat battered women abuse--the self-help
lists grow along with society's burdens. The positive side of
anger is that "it is an invitation to explore, and the map
which points the way" (Cameron, 1992, p. 61). Creative
therapy uncovers the fury, communicates to the adolescent that it
is safe to illuminate the offending thought, and permits the
interpreter to translate the message that the anger is sending
(Cameron). The roadblock causing depression or
"dis-ease" is torn down and new mentally healthy
pathways are rebuilt. The most extensive trial of the therapies'
proven success has been demonstrated with incarcerated prisoners.
Anger is ever-present in the American penal system. Within the
last five years, prisons have instituted journal and art therapy
for inmate rehabilitation purposes. Weekly therapy sessions are
held with the specialized therapists two years prior to the
prisoner's parole date. Some prisons offer the treatment to all
inmates, but with limited therapist resources, most of the
institutions preserve the opportunity for those prisoners being
released back into society. Data is being assembled, but not yet
available, which will detail the success rate of the parolees
which underwent these two therapies compared to those released
who did not. Therapists report that inmate behavior during
incarceration does improve with remarked decrease in reported
incidents after three months of therapy, and angry outbursts
subside dramatically (Ceci, 1998) . The two poems below were
authored by inmates during their therapy.

Penance

As I
sit and think of my future, my past,

what I
have accomplished, what will last?

It
seems my addiction has taken over my life.

Filling
each day with pain and strife...

Groups...Meetings...One
on Ones.

So much
work to undue things I've done.

Can I
make the changes needed for me to

stop
this cycle, to make me free?

Bars
On My Windows

I have
bars on my window

and
locks on my door.

My bed
is just cold steel,

my back
is always sore.

Time
goes by so slowly

it
creeps and it crawls

my life
appears stagnant

I am
stopped by large walls.

I'm
caged like a lion,

I turn
and pace.

The
pain in my eyes

describes
my disgrace.

Both poems
speak of the authors' remorse for their committed crimes. The
therapy has offered the offenders the opportunity to articulate
their guilt and fears (Prisoner Art and Literature [On-Line]).

6.

A case
study sustaining this data reveals a female, aged 24, who credits
adolescent art therapy for stemming her suicidal threats. At age
14 she began exhibiting oppositional behavior: cutting classes,
defying curfew and defying family and school rules. Her family
entered her into traditional therapy where she met weekly with an
adolescent psychologist. Unable to verbalize her anger, the
oppositional behavior persisted and developed into severe
depression. Throughout the next two years, she experienced two
hospitalizations for depression and suicidal thoughts. Her
depression was manifested by a lack of desire to eat with weight
loss, sleeplessness, and a loss of desire to live. Following the
second hospitalization, she was admitted to an out-patient
psychotherapy program which she attended daily after school
hours. During this program, she was admitted to an art therapy
program where she was able to "break through" her anger
resistance and explore her suicidal tendencies. The drawing on
figure 6 depicts her family members engaging during an unusually
distressing time of the day. The depressed patient drew three
members of her family when indeed there were four. When
questioned by the art therapist as to the missing member, she
replied, "My father's not in the picture. He's never in the
picture." When asked by the art therapist to interpret her
statement, she answered, "He doesn't care about me. He
doesn't love me." That statement was the first verbalization
of her perception of her role in her father's life. Her
depression subsided, and the family engaged in therapy to help
her cope with this perception. The patient remained in therapy
for approximately two years further; and reports that although
her relationship with her father is far from model, she has
cleared the hurdle of feeling inadequate and accepted his
inadequacy in fully engaging in a father/daughter alliance
(K.V.).

As further
evidence of the treatment's value, a Journal and Art Therapy
Workshop was conducted by this author, the student therapist, on
November 14, 1998 at New York University in Dr. Julia Keefer's
Writing Workshop II class (McKay Workshop). One of the ground
rules declared for the therapy session was complete
confidentiality of all discussions and no further conversation
permitted outside the classroom. Students were led through three
exercises: (Appendix A).

The first
was a stream of consciousness writing designed to clear excess
thought which could be blocking access to creativity. The
students were asked to utilize their notebooks in journal fashion
for five minutes, where they "dumped" unedited thoughts
from head to paper. They were assured that these writings were
for their eyes only and not to be shared with the class.

The second
was a free association exercise aimed at clearing anger stemming
from criticism of their work, and students were advised that
these responses could be shared if they wished.

The third
was an art therapy exercise fashioned to help students connect
with "inner wisdom" and to trust those flashes of
creativity. Students were advised that they would be asked to
interpret their individual creations.

7.

Students
actively engaged in each exercise, willingly sharing their free
association responses from Exercise 2; and all participants
displayed their artwork and interpreted their responses from
Exercise 3. Some responses were emotional, some insightful and
others revealed current circumstances. Students actively engaged
along with the student therapist in assisting interpretations and
offering advice to each other. One of the student's art therapy
creations shown in Figure 7 was interpreted after a guided
imagery to a "wise old person" who offered a gift. The
student volunteered that her drawing depicted that she did not
like her gift and was very disappointed. The student therapist
asked the student if she is often disappointed when examining her
creative concepts for projects. The student admitted that she is.
"I get this great idea and then I tear it to shreds and
never use it (Workshop Participant)." Participants agreed
that there was a general feeling of well being and excitement
when the session was concluded. Some offered that this type of
class would be helpful at a University level. The student
therapist was thanked privately when the class period ended by at
least three participants for the value manifested by the therapy.

From penal
institutions, to high schools, to one of the most highly
respected University's in the world, these cases corroborate that
Americans exist on self-demanding treadmills in an angry society.
With biology contributing generously to their passion,
adolescents feel this anger most keenly. To the remainder of
their society, their anger makes them the most unlovable during
the time that they need to be loved the most. Journal/Art Therapy
is the wizardry which converts adolescent anger to healing, thus
mending society as a whole. Legal tampering is the wizardry which
tosses its magic cloak converting treatment to obsolescence, thus
fragmenting the very society it claims to preserve.

Legal
Invasion and Personal Rights

Before
leaving the NYU workshop session, the professor offered a
rhetorical question: "What if after being promised
confidentiality, the students' journals and artwork were
subpoenaed for analysis because a crime had been committed during
that class session in the University building (Keefer)?"
Since "right to privacy" is a well-guarded American
treasure touted in its globally distributed public relations
materials, the question begs further "what if"
considerations:

What if
a high school student created ominous, dark poetry and was
suspended immediately for possible violent intent until
further analysis? And what if, upon further analysis, it was
found that the student had been recently told he had cancer
and was using this form to express emotional grief?

What if
a female teenager was molested by a family adult friend and
kept a record of the abuse in her journal? What if the
accused's legal defense subpoenaed her journal for evidence
of the accuser's normal teenage sexual experimentation in an
effort to besmirch her reputation and credibility?

Similarly,
carried into the adult realm, what if a professional was
accused by an employee of sexual harassment, and the defense
proved a "compelling need" to audit the accuser's
entire personal computer e-mail file in an attempt to
discredit the victim?

These
examples are typical of the reactionaries who carry out their
invasions in the name of protection and safeguard. The three
circumstances have occurred. In the first incident, the student
was admitted back to school after a conference with school
officials and his parents. The second incident is a current legal
matter; and the third has been attempted by defenders of sexual
harassment cases, but most usually blocked by the prosecutors and
judges.

Home theft
victims often describe their experience as one of "violation
and rape" of their privacy. In these instances, they are
referring most commonly to invasion of their home and the loss of
tangible items, i.e., jewelry, electronics, and other valuables.
Many of these victims suffer terror of future violations and
avail themselves of counselling groups which support them through
their emotional distress (Victimsrights [On-Line]). Yet, there is
no empathy for the individual who has been stripped of his or her
private intangible domain. How should the psychological effect of
an individual's violation and rape of his emotional expression by
a second-party examiner for legal gain differ from that of an
individual who experiences theft of tangible items to a thief for
monetary gain? Therapist and patient painstakingly establish and
nurture mutual trust. In journal and art therapy this nurturance
is accomplished by the patient's trust that he or she is creating
a project comprised of raw uncensored emotion which will not be
judged or evaluated by a second party. The process consists of a
prescribed passive role for the therapist and an active one for
the adolescent. The patient is requested to write (in journal
therapy) or artistically create (in art therapy) an expression of
his anger. The artistic endeavor permits the image's
manifestation (Cameron, 1992). Once the product is created, the
therapist carefully facilitates the adolescent's anger discovery
with the patient actively describing his or her own interpretive
map (Silverstone, 1997). The processual benefits are three-fold:
society enjoys one less angry adolescent; patients report
spontaneous euphoria; and while words can go astray from ear to
notes, therapists have tangible evidence in creative form
(Silverstone).

Now the
patient's profit becomes his peril, for the therapist's tangible
evidence may become the American court's tangible evidence. There
are three categories of therapist circumstances for discovery
rules. First are counselling professionals practicing in states
who do not have a confidentiality privilege, i.e., New Jersey.
Their patient's files may be discoverable through the normal
subpoena procedures [26(b)1]. Second are those professionals
protected in states which have a confidentiality law. While
confidential communications between these licensed
psychotherapists and his/her patient are generally protected from
disclosure, parties involved in litigation are authorized to the
name and credentials of a party's treatment professional, as well
as the dates of treatment. Legal rules governing the scope of
material to be disclosed during litigation focus upon the
relationship of the material to the person's credibility. The
purpose of such disclosure is to remove the element of surprise
from trial preparation so that the parties can obtain evidence
necessary to evaluate and resolve the dispute. Consequently, the
disclosure of necessary materials, including diaries, notes and
calendars, that contain confidential communications have been
disclosed. Such disclosure requests will be granted if either
party can demonstrate that the material sought is relevant to the
reason for the litigation, and that public policy outweighs the
individual's need for privacy. Consequently, in those cases where
there is a claim for severe emotional distress, the defense will
be authorized to inquire into a patient's prior psychological
treatment.

Notwithstanding
privileges that can be accorded to a psychotherapy relationship,
there are circumstances in which public safety interests may
override a confidentiality normally accorded to a therapeutic
relationship. Tarasoff v. The Regents of the University of
California, 551 P.2d 334 (Cal. 1976) is a prime example of
public interest outweighing the therapeutic relationship. On
October 27, 1997, Tatiana Tarasoff was killed by Posenjit Poddar.
Two months prior to the incident, Poddar had communicated his
intention to kill her to his psychiatrist during therapy
sessions. The girls parents filed suit against the psychiatrist
and his employer, the University of California Hospital at
Berkeley, charging the physician with a duty to warn the intended
victim of impending danger. Jurisdictions are divided on this
issue. Some have adopted the Tarasoff ruling, and others
have declined in whole or in part. Hence, therapists must check
the rules controlling the jurisdiction of their practice.
(Tarassof)

Regardless
of traditional therapy disclosure law, there exists limited
confidentiality privilege on a national level for the third
category-Btraditional art therapists. Although these
professionals rarely attain state licensing, they are invited to
apply for membership in the American Art Therapy Association. As
members of this organization, they must adhere to Section 2.5 of
the Ethical Standards for Art Therapists: "Art therapists
shall disclose confidential information when mandated by law in a
civil, criminal, or disciplinary action. In these cases the
patient's confidences may be disclosed as reasonably necessary in
the course of that action (Ethical Standards [On-Line]).
Therefore, when their patients' documents are subpoenaed, a
second party, court-appointed psychologist and Judge, may be
called upon to interpret the meaning of these documents to
ascertain their adolescent patient's intent and soundness of
mind.

This interpretive
practice violates the therapeutic process's intent, where the
patient owns his creative translation. Co-mingling
interpretations distort the essence of the adolescent's message
and present an altered product. We have all observed legal
badgering of witnesses on the stand as attorneys clash to promote
their version of the truth. In these cases, a jury of twelve
decides which version to pursue. In the case of the adolescent,
closed hearings comprised of the psychologist, judge and battling
attorneys determine the youngster's destiny based upon the
presented judgments of each participant.

Patient work appearing
to depict threatening violent intent can be misjudged easily. The
following excerpts from letters and diaries demonstrate how these
misdiagnoses can occur:

"A" Notes: The
author of the following letter excerpt suffered the early deaths
of her mother and sisters, the tyrannical rule of her parson
father and her drug-addicted brother.

When one does not
complain, when one seeks to dominate oneself with a tyrant's
grip, the faculties start into rebellion and one pays for
external calm with an internal struggle that is almost
unbearable. Day and night I find neither rest nor peace. If I
sleep I am disturbed by tormenting dreams in which I see you,
always incensed against me. How can I endure life if I make
no effort to ease its sufferings? You will say once again
that I am hysterical that I have black thoughts, etc. All I
say is that I would rather suffer the greatest physical pain
than have your friendship withdrawn from me entirely; if you
give me a little, I shall have reason for living on (Fraser,
1988, p. 213).

"B" Notes:
Authored by a bachelor with a propensity for entertaining
children, especially females, and who composed literature and
games for that audience. The letter written with purposeful
tremulous handwriting was written to a ten year old girl by a 52
year old man:

My dear B,

You were ever so
gracious the other day that I have nearly gotten over my fear
of you. The slight tremulousness which you may observe in my
writing is produced by the thought that it is you I am
writing to. Next time I borrow you, I shall venture on having
you alone. Yours truly...(Cohen, 1995, p. 178).

"C" Notes:
Authored by an adolescent male who had expressed discomfort that
public school education prods its students on a one-way cattle
drive.

And he drew all
yellow and it was the way he felt about the morning. And it
was beautiful. The teacher came and smiled at him.
"What's this?" she said, "Why don't you draw
something like Ken's? Isn't that beautiful? After that he
always drew airplanes and rocket ships like everyone else.
And he threw the old picture away. And when he lay looking at
the sky it was big and blue and all of everything, but he
wasn't anymore. He was square inside and brown, and his hands
were stiff and he was like everyone else. And the thing
inside that needed saying didn't need saying anymore. It had
stopped pushing. It was crushed. Stiff. Like everyone else.
(Silverstone, 1997, p. 109-110).

In today's
psychosocial/legal domain, Sample "A" would peek the
concerned interest of a second party interpreting its contents as
those of a depressed young woman distraught with suicidal
thoughts. It is an excerpt from a letter written by young
Charlotte Bronte to a teacher on whom she had a crush. Viewed by
today's court-appointed psychologist, her letter would earn Miss
Bronte at least a psychological evaluation for depression.

Sample "B" was
a letter written by Lewis Carroll to a friend's daughter whom he
had entertained in his home the prior evening, a practice which
he often undertook to understand a child's imagination for his
literary endeavors. He often communicated in writing to his young
friends in game-like fashion. In 1998, his letters could bestow
upon Mr. Carroll investigation as a suspected pedophile.

Sample "C",
unfortunately, was a journal entry by a sixteen year old who
committed suicide shortly thereafter.

Comparing the three
exhibits, a court-appointed psychologist would find it difficult
to determine the authors' soundness of mind even with
accompanying background facts. Understanding the legal
significance of these inappropriate discovery/evaluative patient
predicaments, in April 1998, Senators Jeffords (Vermont) and Dodd
(Connecticut) in sponsoring Senate Bill 1921, The Health Care
Personal Information Nondisclosure Act of 1998, which would
have ameliorated the restriction of patient physical and mental
health documentation discovery. The bill called for disclosure of
documents only with patient authorization, but with admitted
violence flaring in American society, Sections 210 and 215, still
allowed the mental health care provider, school or university to
disclose without authorization protected information
"pursuant to a grand jury subpoena, an administrative
subpoena or summons, a judicial subpoena or warrant, or a request
otherwise authorized by state or federal law" (Summary,
1998, p. 4) (American Psychological Association [On-Line]). Even
with this generous loophole, the Bill died in Committee (U.S.
Senate Document Room, 10/21/98).

The value of legal
discovery is the exposure of relevant information which can aid
in determining the dispute's merits. There is no value to the
examiner of an adolescent's therapeutic creations. Unlike
accounting receipts or correspondence and accompanying documents,
which leave little to the peruser's imagination, artistic
renderings relinquish inadequate irrefutable evidence. When
dealing with emotion, the creator is communicating subjective
feeling. These individual impressions on paper can lead only to
further subjective interpretation by second parties, and are
tantamount to cocktail conversation around a MOMA exhibit.

Treatment Abandonment

In a survey (Appendix B)
taken among fifty participants, the data reflected a 50 percent
decline in parental journal/art therapy agreement for their
adolescent after it was disclosed that the adolescent's products
were discoverable and could be interpreted by a second party. In
the first part of the survey, the participants were given a
handout which detailed the benefits of the two therapies and
asked if they would allow a delinquent adolescent to participate
in these therapies. One hundred percent agreed that the
treatments should prove to be beneficial and that they would
readily give their authorization. The second part of the survey
noticed the participants that the adolescent's creations could be
discoverable and interpreted by a second party if the adolescent
was involved in delinquent behavior. Fifty percent of the
participants declined their authorization. When questioned as to
the reason for their refusal, the majority of them responded that
a second party interpretation violated the integrity of the
therapeutic process.

High Noon looms ahead
for America's legal and psychosocial systems. In 1998, Americans
experienced legal discovery demonstrated to its fullest, as
Kenneth Starr and his legal dreamteam widened the door of
discovery parameters to examine President Clinton's psyche.
Door-opening sets precedence. Psychologists communicate a quote
to parents regarding adolescent demeanor: "A door opened to
poor behavior is nearly impossible to close." Likewise,
forced legal doorways are every prosecutor's dream, for
newly-opened doors alter the law's course and require exorbitant
effort to refasten the locks.

Law school professors
query first year students, "What function is provided by
law?" Answer: "Laws create order which benefit the good
of society as a whole." When a law is challenged based upon
the sacrifice of rights, the Court renders its determination
based upon the balance of rights apportioned by the law. Hence,
the symbol of the scales where gains and losses to society are
weighed by the Goddess of Justice. While in one scale,
antagonists recite exploding adolescent violence as their rhyme
to discover, protagonists in the other scale quote the same
reason to bar. In 1999, 1,000 young women will die of eating
disorders originating from anger and feelings of worthlessness
(Anorexia [On-Line]); 500,000 despairing teenagers will attempt
suicide and 5,000 will succumb (Teenage Suicide [On-Line]); and
thousands of angry teenage offenders will be incarcerated because
of delinquent crimes, and cavalierly tossed back into society's
fold. Shall we coerce stifled juveniles to conceal journals and
drawings expressing repressed emotion, like Red Azalea's
Anchee Min as she anxiously concealed letters expressing
forbidden sexuality from Red Guard commanders (Min, 1995), or
shall we permit our adolescents the total healthy disclosure of
anger, and bar their creations from second-party interpretation
and possible penalty, thereby creating a healthier American
society?

Appendix
A

Appendix
B

PART I

Dear
Parent:

Journal/Art
Therapy has been recommended for your child by his/her therapist.
Journal/Art Therapy is a proven method of discovering feelings
and emotions which cannot be verbalized easily by your child, a
problem not uncommon in children of this age group. Your
therapist will provide you with written materials which detail
the success rate of this type of therapy when accomplished in
tandem with traditional counseling therapy.

Your child
would be requested to write daily entries in his/her journal and
to bring the entries to the weekly counseling sessions. In art
therapy, your child will work with an art therapist who will
guide your child to express his/her emotions regarding various
subjects through artistic expression, i.e., sketching, painting,
modeling. Journal and artistic expressions can be interpreted
solely by your child in a carefully facilitated process by the
therapist. No prompting or leading questions may be asked by the
therapist in guiding your child's interpretation. The core object
of this type of counseling is to allow your child's expression in
an arena where it will not be judged by the counselor.

Please sign
below as your consent for your child to participate in the
therapy described above.

______________________________________

PART II

Dear
Parent:

Journal/Art
Therapy has been recommended for your child by his/her therapist.
Journal/Art Therapy is a proven method of discovering feelings
and emotions which cannot be verbalized easily by your child, a
problem not uncommon in children of this age group. Your
therapist will provide you with written materials which detail
the success rate of this type of therapy when accomplished in
tandem with traditional counseling therapy.

Your child
would be requested to write daily entries in his/her journal and
to bring the entries to the weekly counseling sessions. In art
therapy, your child will work with an art therapist who will
guide your child to express his/her emotions regarding various
subjects through artistic expression, i.e., sketching, painting,
modeling. Journal and artistic expressions can be interpreted
solely by your child in a carefully facilitated process by the
therapist. No prompting or leading questions may be asked by the
therapist in guiding your child's interpretation. The core
objective of this type of counseling is to allow your child's
expression in an arena where it will not be judged by the
counselor.

PLEASE
BE ADVISED OF THE FOLLOWING: Your child's therapy documents,
i.e., journal entries and art creations, may become legally
discoverable items. If a Court deems it necessary and proper to
subpoena these documents, they may be used for valuative purposes
in a Court of Law. This means that if proven to be legally
imperative, a court-appointed psychologist and Judge may
interpret your child's journal/art therapy submissions.

Please sign
below as your consent for your child to participate in the
therapy described above; and your acknowledgment that you have
been properly advised of the legal implications which could
result.